About
WE STARTED A COMEDY CLUB. IT'S GOING ALRIGHT.
The Isle of Wight's Favourite Bad Influence. Some of the funniest people in the world, on our Island, since 2024.
Our Story
The Story
Ballyrags started in April 2024. The idea had been knocking about for years - too long, frankly - before it finally got dragged out of the pub and onto a stage. One show at FuBar (Bar 74 as was), one question: would anyone actually turn up?
Luc Valvona had been running the Isle of Wight School of Comedy by then, better known to most as Baron Fortitude. Toby Brown had spent years putting on events while quietly nursing the ambition to run a comedy club of his own. Mutual friends did the introductions. Within a few weeks they'd booked Simon Emanuel to headline, rounded up some local talent for support, and put the word out.
The room was full. So was the next one. And the one after that.
Two years on, Ballyrags is the Island's monthly comedy fixture - Third Thursdays at the Royal Esplanade in Ryde, food-and-comedy nights at the Wheatsheaf in Newport, and grander affairs in the Ocean View ballroom in Shanklin when the occasion demands it. Plus weekend specials and charity gigs whenever they make sense.
We've put on shows headlined by Tony Law, Geoff Norcott, Jarred Christmas, Angelos Epithemiou, Bobby Mair, Jeff Dye, Paul McCaffrey, Dane Baptiste, Craig Campbell, Carey Marx, Mitch Benn, Diane Spencer and Andrew O'Neill - alongside a long list of brilliant national, and local acts, who earn every minute of their stage time.
It hasn't all been smooth. Venues come and go, plans wobble, the bar queue occasionally tests a saint's patience. But the ambition hasn't budged: a night out on the Island worth leaving the house for - one that stirs the soul a little and never once asks you to apologise for living here.
So here's the bit that matters. After a short breather, Ballyrags is back - and frankly in better shape than ever. Bigger team, bigger ideas, better nights, and a bar queue we're personally declaring war on, with plans for the next few years that we're not quite ready to spill yet. Big ones, though. Stick with us. It's about to get very good indeed.
Different
What Makes Us Different
We think comedy does more than fill an evening. A real belly laugh - the kind that catches you off guard in a packed room - is one of the better things you can do for your head. So we take it seriously. That means the gig itself, yes, but also everything wrapped around it: the room, the welcome, the people you're sat next to. Get all of that right and a night of comedy stops being something you watch and starts being something that does you good.
- Laughter that's genuinely good for you, doctor's note pending
- Serious sound, lights, and a stage that doesn't look like a pub corner
- Photography on the night, every set recorded properly
- A green room performers actually want to be in
- An MC who knows the room and keeps the night moving
- Touring headliners, rising names, and fresh acts on every bill
None of it is showing off. It's just how we think a comedy club should run. The rooms - between 30 and 90 people depending on the venue - are small enough that you're never far from the stage, but big enough to give the acts and the crowd a night worth remembering.
Venues
Where We Play
The Royal Esplanade Hotel — Ryde
The Esplanade, Ryde PO33 2ED
Third Thursdays · Doors 7pm
The Wheatsheaf Hotel — Newport
St Thomas Square, Newport PO30 1SG
Food & Comedy
The Ocean View Hotel — Shanklin
Park Road, Shanklin PO37 6BB
Ballroom venue, larger capacity.
We also run weekend specials and charity events at venues across the Island whenever something interesting comes up - we've raised thousands for good causes along the way. Keep an eye on the events page.
Founders
The Founders
Luc Valvona
Co-founder
Luc has been doing stand-up for years, performing across the South Coast and beyond as Baron Fortitude - Chichester Fringe New Act of the Year, Hampshire Comedian of the Year, Musical Comedy Awards finalist, and, as far as anyone can tell, the Island's only Victorian rapper. He founded the Isle of Wight School of Comedy and runs the courses that have launched a fair few of the acts you'll catch on our line-ups from time to time.
If you've laughed at Ballyrags, there's a good chance Luc booked the act or taught the support - and if it was a really good gag, well, he may have had a hand in that too.
Toby Brown
Co-founder
Toby has spent years putting on events of every shape and size, all while harbouring a lifelong ambition to run a comedy club of his own. He co-founded Ballyrags in 2024 and you'll often find him on the mic between acts, doing the bit where someone has to stand up and say something funny. He's got a long list of other Island projects on the go, but this is the one that feeds his soul - there's not much he loves more than a room full of people laughing.
His favourite part of the job is standing at the side of a full room while everyone in it forgets their troubles for a couple of hours.
The Team
The Crew
Ballyrags is a team of more than two. These are the people who make every show actually happen - and several of them have been there since the start.
Bex
Operations Manager
A background as a psychiatric nurse, a sideline in stand-up, and a frankly alarming talent for panto. Bex runs the moving parts of the day-to-day and is the person everyone ends up asking when they don't know who to ask. If something needs sorting, Bex has usually sorted it already.
Bianca
Operations & Events Coordinator
The glue holding the whole thing together. Bianca works between Toby, Bex and Hazel to make sure everyone's in the right place, knows what they're meant to be doing, and is doing it on time. The kind of quietly essential that you only notice the second she takes a night off.
Hazel
Digital & Accounts Manager
Keeper of the website, the books, and the balance sheet - and the one who sits the headliners and acts down for interviews you'll find across the site. Equal parts numbers and words, which is a rarer combination than it sounds. Nothing gets published or paid without passing through Hazel.
Holly
Social Media Manager
Producer of theatre, writer of comedy, and the voice behind everything Ballyrags posts. Holly looks after the socials and makes sure the internet knows exactly what it's missing. Funny on purpose, which is harder than it looks, and exactly what you want running the feed.
Will
Logistics & Security
Gets people where they need to be, gets things done, and keeps everyone safe while it happens. Calm when it's busy, sharp when it matters, and the reason the night runs smoothly without anyone noticing the work. We love Will. Everyone loves Will.
John
Logistics & Tech
The engine of the operation. Set-up, break-down, cameras, video, and hauling kit from one end of the Island to the other without complaint. If it needs lifting, wiring, filming or fixing, John's already on it. Our trusty steed, and we'd be lost without him